Idaho nuclear expert sees role for U.S. in Japan

Mar 31 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rocky Barker The Idaho Statesman, Boise

University of Idaho nuclear engineering professor Akira Tokuhiro says the international community should intervene in Japan's nuclear crisis because "radiation knows no boundaries."

Radiation levels around the Fukushima nuclear plant remain high after explosions and meltdowns disabled four reactors after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11. Tokyo Electric Power Co announced Wednesday it won't be able to restart the reactors because it was forced to cool them and fuel rod pools with seawater. And the company still has not been able to bring the four reactors under control.

The U.S. Department of Energy has 40 people on the ground in Japan, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has about a dozen there.

But is it enough? Tokuhiro said he and other nuclear academics and professionals in both the United States and Japan are worried that Japanese leaders are not acting boldly to solve the problems.

"The pace of developments is very frustrating," Tokuhiro said. "The Japanese community, because of its culture, is hesitant to ask for help."

Tokuhiro was born in Tokyo but now works at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls. He has more than 20 years of experience in nuclear engineering and has been closely monitoring the situation in Japan.

A big problem is the lack of transparency and access to clear information about what's happening at the reactor site, he said.

Nuclear consultant and writer Dan Yurman, who used to work at the Idaho National Laboratory and now is based in Ohio, also has been following the events closely.

He, too, has concerns about the flow of information.

"The issue you have to watch is whether the reactor vessels and the primary containment are intact," Yurman said.

Based on the levels of radiation he's seen reported, he thinks they are. But he doesn't know for sure -- and that's the problem.

Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo has been briefed by DOE officials about the extensive effort to monitor the Japan nuclear situation and to provide assistance. But he said he takes seriously concerns from people like Tokuhiro.

"With this alarm being raised, it's something that should be checked," he said.

Tokuhiro wants the United States to bring its "can-do" attitude to resolving the crisis, bringing in the best minds from around the world to address the complex problems that continue to arise on the site.

He's been reading and watching the news in both languages and talking with nuclear experts both here and in Japan.

"The difference is in how we do the crisis management," he said.

The United States and the world community are hesitant to step in and challenge Japan's sovereignty.

But the continuing global spread of radiation should override those concerns, he said.

"This is not any different than Libya," Tokuhiro said. "Why is it we have no problem intervening militarily but we won't intervene on this crisis?"

Tokuhiro is worried about the effects of the Japan reactor crisis on the future of nuclear energy and the world's energy supplies. He's not worried about the radiation threat in the United States and Idaho.

But for weeks, Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been contaminating hundreds of thousands of gallons of seawater to cool the reactors and pools.

That unsophisticated process is expected to continue until experts find another way to keep the irradiated reactors and fuel cool.

"This is going to be in the news six months from now," Tokuhiro said. "The clean-up will continue for five years or more."

CEO Anne Lauvergeon of Areva, the French-government backed nuclear company, arrived in Japan Thursday with a team of radiation experts to help the Japanese. Areva said it still could begin construction of a $3.3 billion uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls later this year, pending approval by the NRC.

But more consultations might not be enough to get the action the world needs, Tokuhiro said. He wants the United States or the International Atomic Energy Agency, part of the United Nations, to act now.

"Radiation does not care about the sovereignty of nations," he said.

Rocky Barker: 377-6484